Marketers wear all the hats. No matter what part of marketing you work in, it's likely you're asked to stretch your skills into another area. But the recent boom of AI tools has made this multi-jobbing a lot easier. 

I've spent a lot of time tinkering with AI marketing tools. Based on those experiences and the research and testing done by the team at Zapier, I've put together a list of the best AI marketing tools to help you work more efficiently.

The best AI marketing tools by category

Whether you're looking to speed up the process of brainstorming new campaign ideas or drafting long-form copy, there's an AI marketing tool to help. Every business's needs are different, though, so what works for one may not work for another. Having said that, here are different categories of AI marketing tools you may need, along with an app recommendation and links to other options if you want to learn more. 

• The best AI marketing tools for images and videos

• The best AI marketing tools for research and writing

• The best AI marketing tools for social media

• The best AI marketing tool for connecting your apps

What is an AI marketing tool?

An AI marketing tool is any software that uses artificial intelligence to help you with your marketing-related tasks. We tend to jump straight to content creation when we think about using AI in marketing, but how you employ AI will depend a lot on your role. Here are some of the ways AI marketing tools might help you in your day-to-day:

• Ad enhancement and targeting

• Content optimization

• Brand alignment

• Market research

• Sentiment analysis

• Translation for multilingual campaigns

• Predictive lead scoring

• Creating customer-facing bots

And that's just scratching the surface. As AI becomes the new normal, most of the apps you use will have AI built in. Until then, these are the best AI marketing tools available to you now.

The best AI marketing tools at a glance

The best AI marketing tools for images and videos

Some of the most important assets you'll need as a marketer are visual. And while you'll want to hire an expert for in-depth campaigns, it's important to be nimble when it comes to creating things like blog post hero images or quick video explanations for clients.

AI image generators like DALL·E 3

AI image generators can help you create unique images that are customizable to your brand, and DALL·E 3 works well for this purpose. It's incredibly easy to use despite its powerful features. With simple AI art prompts, you can generate digital artwork that's business-ready, and it has some image editing features to go along with it.

OpenAI, the company behind DALL·E, also offers an API which allows developers to build apps that integrate with DALL·E. Because of that, you can connect DALL·E to Zapier to do things like automatically generate images from Google Forms or HubSpot responses—or any other apps you use. Here are a few pre-made workflows to get you started.

And of course, DALL·E isn't the only AI art generator worth trying out. Here's a list of the best AI image generators for more options.

DALL·E pricing: DALL·E 3 is included as part of ChatGPT Plus at $20/month and available for free through Microsoft Copilot; DALL·E 2 costs $15 for 115 image credits. API pricing is more complex, but starts from $0.016/image.

AI photo editors like Adobe Photoshop

AI image generators can produce creative assets, but if you want to take things to the next level, you'll need an AI image editor. They can elevate your AI-generated images, or you can use them to make your own designs and photography work for the context you need.

Adobe Photoshop is the big name here. Among other neat tricks, Photoshop lets you remove unwanted objects from an image and replace them with generated content that blends in seamlessly to the original.

You can also use Adobe Photoshop in tandem with Lightroom—another Adobe image editor that's geared more toward managing and processing photos. Lightroom also integrates with Zapier, so you can automate your photo editing workflows. Here are a few ideas to get you started. 

If Photoshop doesn't work for you—or if its learning curve is too steep—take a look at Zapier's list of the best AI photo editors for more recommendations.

Adobe Photoshop pricing: $19.99/month for the Photography plan, which also includes Lightroom.

AI video generators and editors like Descript

Whether it's for personalized marketing collateral, internal messaging, or a short YouTube tutorial, quick video creation is a huge win, and AI has made it possible. Sure, AI-generated videos won't be as authentic as the human-made version, but they get the job done.

Descript is one of the best tools for the job. It's primarily an audio and video editing tool that lets you edit a video by editing the transcript. It's powerful, easy to use, and perfect for team collaboration. And Descript integrates with Zapier, which means you can connect it to all the other apps in your marketing tech stack. Learn more about how to automate Descript, or get started with one of these pre-built workflows.

If you're looking for something different or more focused on video generation (vs. editing), check out Zapier's list of the best AI video generators for more options.

Descript pricing: Free plan available with 1 hour of transcription and 1 watermark-free video at 720p each month; Creator plan starts at $12/user/month including 10 hours of transcription and unlimited watermark-free video exports at up to 4k resolution.

The best AI marketing tools for research and writing

Research and writing go hand in hand. After all, you shouldn't be creating content without doing research first, whether it's market research, subject matter research, or anything in between. These AI marketing tools will help you make sure you're doing your due diligence—and then help you create the content you want to produce.

AI chatbots like ChatGPT

With everything on your plate, you need a tireless assistant adept at handling any tasks thrown at them. Enter: AI chatbots. They're virtual team members that can help you deliver better customer experiences. 

ChatGPT is the chatbot to beat. It can help you brainstorm, format your content, generate personalized marketing messages, and even help with market research. And it does all these things conversationally, remembering previous discussions and using them as context to deliver more accurate and on-brand outputs. Plus, when you connect ChatGPT to Zapier, you can kick off conversations from inside the other apps you use most. Learn more about how to automate ChatGPT, or get started with one of these workflows.

If you don't like how ChatGPT works, check out Zapier's list of best AI chatbots to explore other options. But keep in mind that a lot of them use GPT in the background (though some of them still add their custom training to the model). 

ChatGPT pricing: Free for the less powerful GPT-3.5 Turbo model; access the latest GPT-4 model with ChatGPT Plus for $20/month.

AI chatbot builders like Zapier Chatbots

If ChatGPT & co. aren't getting the job done, you can create your own custom chatbot for your business using Zapier's AI chatbot builder. It allows you to combine your own data with OpenAI's models to build automated conversational bots that match your brand and work however you want them to. 

You can use the bots you create for internal or external purposes. For example, your chatbot can generate press releases, edit content in your brand's voice, or answer your website visitors' questions. Start with a template, or build your bot from scratch with no code.

Once you've built your custom AI chatbot, connect it with the rest of your tech stack to automate your most repetitive tasks—or just the tasks you'd really rather not do. 

Zapier Chatbots pricing: Free plan includes 2 chatbots powered by GPT-3.5; from $20/month for 5 chatbots, 1 knowledge source, and the ability to embed it on your website. 

AI writing generators like Jasper

AI writing tools help kickstart your creative engine by turning ideas into coherent content. While AI text generators have a tendency to produce generic information, they've developed to the point where they can actually deliver usable marketing materials that match your brand and audience. You still need human oversight, but it can speed up your process a lot.

Jasper is one of the most robust tools. It offers a knowledge base where you can upload company facts, style guides, and product catalogs to teach the AI about your business. Then, with features like brand voice and memory, it can craft accurate campaign ads, outlines, first drafts, and emails that are more authentic to your brand. It also has a browser extension that allows you to use it within other apps as you work.

You can even connect it to thousands of other apps using Jasper's Zapier integration. Learn more about how to automate content marketing with Jasper, or try one of these pre-built workflows.

If Jasper doesn't work for you due to budget constraints—it's on the more expensive side—check out Zapier's list of the best AI writing generators for more options. I personally use Writesonic because I find it to be the closest Jasper alternative while still being budget-friendly.

Jasper pricing: From $39/user/month (billed annually) for the Creator plan, which includes 1 brand voice and SEO mode; Pro plan starts at $59/user/month including 3 brand voices, 10 knowledge assets, and 3 instant campaigns.

AI SEO content optimization tools like Clearscope

Content optimization tools help you make sure your content ranks. They're like an eagle-eyed editor and SEO-focused research assistant rolled into one. Each app will scan your content, analyze what else is out there, and tell you what's missing in yours. Then, it'll make recommendations to help your piece rise above the competition.

Clearscope is definitely one to try out. It's expensive, but it packs in all sorts of features to help improve the quality of your content and stand out in the search results. At a glance, you can see the keywords, questions, and sections to include in your article—all while perusing competing content on the same screen. Compile comprehensive briefs in minutes, share them with external writers, and work wherever you like—whether that's Google Docs or WordPress. 

If Clearscope isn't in the fiscal cards for you, take a look at these other options for the best AI-powered SEO content optimization tools. Or, if your site is on WordPress, you can use one of these WordPress SEO plugins.

Clearscope pricing: Essentials plan for $199/month includes 30 keyword discovery credits per month; Business plan for $599/month gives you 100 keyword credits and AI content outline generation.

AI grammar checkers and rewording tools like Grammarly

Once you've created and optimized your content, an AI grammar checker and rewording tool will help you polish it so you don't ruin the rest of your hard work with an embarrassing typo.

Grammarly is the tool of choice for most writers and marketers. It serves as a silent writing partner, watching your content and catching elusive mistakes. It'll sniff out spelling and punctuation errors and ensure your writing strikes the right note when you feed it your brand style guide and configure tone of voice. And with its new generative AI feature—GrammarlyGO—it can identify gaps in content quality, offer suggestions for improvement, and even assist with content generation.

But Grammarly is far from the only tool available. Here's Zapier's list of the best AI grammar checkers and rewording tools.

Grammarly pricing: Free plan available; $12/month (billed annually) for the Premium plan.

Best AI marketing tools for social media

Social media is a very specific beast. Instead of writing, images, or video, it's all of the above, all the time. Here are some AI marketing tools to help you tackle your social media faster.

AI social media management editors like FeedHive

Social media management tools are necessary to juggle all the tasks needed to execute on a strong social media strategy. And while most apps are starting to incorporate AI, there are a handful that have already gone all in.

FeedHive is a great tool to check out in this category. It brings lots of AI and automation features to help with everything from content generation to recycling, posting, and monitoring. For example, AI-powered content recycling helps you turn existing posts into new ones without redundancy, and AI-powered conditional posting uses AI to measure engagement for a post and then takes a specific action if engagement is high enough. 

If you want something a little more niche or you prefer to explore more options, here's Zapier's list of the best AI social media management tools.

FeedHive pricing: Creator plan starts at $15/month (billed annually) for 4 social accounts with AI Writing Assistant included; $22/month for the Brand plan, which includes AI hashtag suggestions and AI performance prediction.

Free AI design tools like Canva

You need visuals to stand out on social, but that doesn't mean you should add graphic design to the top of your hat pile. Graphic design tools can help you handle the granular elements, so you can focus on more important things like crafting posts your audience will resonate with.

Canva is a great first tool to check out. It has millions of templates for all sorts of use cases, from LinkedIn carousels to Instagram Stories and everything in between. There's a drag-and-drop editor and a great selection of free assets for quick customization. And the Magic Design feature, which is available for free, uses AI to generate relevant design templates based on an image or prompt. No more building from scratch. 

If Canva doesn't work for you, here's a list of more social media graphic design tools, including other AI-powered tools like Adobe Express. You can also take a look at Zapier's walkthrough of how to create a social media post with AI for free.

Canva pricing: Free for over one million templates, stock photos and assets, and 5 GB of cloud storage; from $10/month (billed annually) for Canva Pro, which offers 1TB of storage, multiple millions of assets, and advanced AI features.

The best app for connecting your AI marketing tools

Each of these AI marketing tools is impressive on its own. But when you pair AI with automation, you can take your AI tech stack to a whole new level. 

An AI automation tool like Zapier

Let's say you're a freelance writer, and you use Jasper to draft content outlines. Once those outlines are ready, you then email them to an editor for review. Automation tools can help you automate the entire process, so you can spend more time on work that matters. 

This is the Zapier blog, so of course we recommend Zapier. It connects with thousands of apps—including most of your favorite AI tools—which means there are infinite possibilities for what you can automate. You can use prebuilt Zaps (like the ones included throughout this article) or create your own from scratch, and there's no code required.

Zapier's AI tools will help you automate smarter. For example, you can create Zaps with natural language: type in what you want the Zap to do, and the AI will build it for you. And that's just the tip of the iceberg. Learn more about all of Zapier's AI tools.

Zapier pricing: Free plan available; from $20/month (billed annually) for the Premium plan.

Other AI marketing tools worth exploring

From lead gen to conversion, research to editing, pricing to analytics, AI has seeped into almost every area of marketing—and it only gets better from here. If you don't jump on the bandwagon, you'll fall behind, so it's important to find opportunities to use AI in your work as a marketer, regardless of the task. Here are a few more apps to add to your AI marketing toolkit:

• AI email assistants like Shortwave make quick work of surfacing emails using AI-powered email search. Here's Zapier's list of the best AI email assistants.

• AI productivity apps give you time back so you can concentrate on things that impact your work. This includes everything from project management apps to transcription software. Check out Zapier's list of the best AI productivity tools.

• AI meeting assistants like Fireflies.ai handle the logistics involved in making meetings more productive. They'll track your meetings, record conversations, transcribe them, and share important information with teammates. Take a look at the best AI meeting assistants.

• AI presentation software like Beautiful.ai can help you create striking presentations in minutes. Here's a list of the best presentation apps out there, many of which are powered by AI. 

• AI website builders like Wix streamline the process of designing websites and organizing your content. Here are Zapier's picks for the best AI website builders.

• AI sales assistants like Regie.ai can do everything from drafting cold emails to deploying outreach campaigns. Here's Zapier's list of the best AI sales assistants.

Once you discover how efficient you can be with AI marketing tools, it's impossible to go back to the traditional way of doing things—and that's a good thing.

Related reading:

• 8 ways real businesses are using AI for content creation

• Content marketing AI: How artificial intelligence is changing the game

• Free marketing calendar templates to boost your strategy

This article was originally published in October 2023. The most recent update, with contributions from Jessica Lau, was in April 2024.